"There were 30 cats and a ferret living in this bungalow and they were all feral, just left to fend for themselves.

"It had, quite simply, become overrun with the animals. The conditions in the house were horrific - there was so much animal faeces which in some parts of the bungalow were waist-high and completely embedded in surfaces.

"There was literally nowhere else for the animals to relieve themselves and they had resorted to defecating on the tops of wardrobes and kitchen surfaces.

"The property was dark, damp and not fit for humans or animals to live in. It felt unreal."

The court heard the house had belonged to Jones’s late mother and that initially Jones had put two cats in the house, but that over time they had interbred.

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He was sentenced for causing unnecessary suffering to the animals and handed a lifetime disqualification order on keeping animals, an 18-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months, and ordered him to pay £400 costs and a £115 victim surcharge.

He pleaded guilty to the offence at a hearing on Thursday last week.

Inspector Scotcher said: "Jones was visiting the house and throwing food down, but he had no way of knowing whether all the animals were eating properly.

"Some of the cats were so feral that the only way we could handle them was with thick gauntlet gloves."

The animals were removed from the house over the following three weeks.

Each cat was examined by a vet, who had attended the property and viewed the conditions first hand.